Kishi Kaisei
by Mayonaka Yoreki
Summary: She was only trying to protect her daughter by running, only trying to get away by going into the old well house. She didn't mean to get killed, didn't mean to fail in protecting her only daughter. IY/RK Kagome/ Kenshin COWRITER WANTED!
1. Prologue

**Kishi Kaisei**

**Prologue: Transcending Time**

Rina ran. She ran with every ounce of strength and speed her exhausted body could muster. Only the newborn baby in her arms and the heavy footfalls of the men chasing her kept her going. Tears were running in rivulets down her face, cutting a not-so-clear path into her dirtied cheeks. Her breath was coming out in shaky, panting gasps, and though her lungs burned and her legs ached, Rina kept going for the only sure thing she had at the moment. She didn't know if she would survive the encounter, nor did she know of her husband's condition within the Sekihoutai. She just didn't know, wasn't sure of anything except the tiny bundle wrapped in her arms. She had to get away, if only for her daughter, if only to make sure her child survived where Rina herself might not.

"You won't escape!" one of the men called from somewhere behind her.

Rina cried out desperately and charged forward, away from the cruel laughter of her pursuers. "There's nothing you can do!" another called, and Rina swerved off to the right, up a long stone stairway, in her effort to get away from them.

Her action threw them off for a moment, but only for a moment, and though Rina was fast enough to be near the top before they ever reached the stairway, she knew she could not be out of sight, knew they would find her. Hearing their loud footfalls nearing the stairs, Rina grew desperate. She was too exhausted; she could run no longer. So, she made a frantic move, diving off to the side again, into the trees to the right of the stairway. The moment she was out of sight, Rina turned her attention to shushing her crying baby, in an effort to keep the noise from giving away their location. The baby calmed not a moment too soon, as the small group of men charged up the stairs, right past their hiding spot among the trees.

"Spread out, men!" the group's obvious leader yelled. "Find her!"

Biting her lip as she watched them immediately get ready to search the shrine, Rina travelled further up the hill, using the trees as cover to hide her movements. Her eyes flitted around in a slightly frantic pattern, nervously watching as her pursuers hunted for her, though thankfully enough, none thought to enter the tree line. Gently rocking her daughter, Rina observed as one of the men entered a small storage shed. He left the door wide open, though it was so dark within the building that Rina could see nothing of what was inside. He withdrew only a moment later, not bothering to slide the door shut behind him with his exit of the structure.

"Damn Bitch!" he exclaimed angrily, his back to her as he walked away from the shed. "Where the hell are you?"

Rina bit her lip again, and anxiously, her eyes searched the immediate area for signs of the others. Her decision was made the moment she realized none were looking her way. Cautiously, Rina stepped away from the tree that had become her sanctuary, taking slow, measured steps toward the now-empty shed. She was almost there, directly in front of the open doorway, when a loud, anguished wail cut through the relative quiet the night had offered. Rina froze, her green eyes wide with fright and panic.

"Get her!" one of the men yelled, jerking forward to chase after Rina as she stumbled into action, running into the shed.

She was halfway down the small set of stairs before it happened. Rina heard it before she felt it, the sound of several swords being drawn, the angry, triumphant yells of the strangers that had chased her for hours because of a reason Rina had never known. She wanted to cry out, to scream for help, but Rina never got that chance. When a hand fisted into her hair and a blade pierced her skin, Rina wanted to think that it wasn't fatal, that her baby wasn't flying from her arms toward the opening of a dry well that Rina hadn't known was there before. She wanted to believe the fall wouldn't kill her daughter, that the burning pain and the sword rammed straight through her neck wouldn't kill her. She wanted to close her eyes and just pretend none of it was really happening, that she wasn't dying, that she hadn't failed to protect her newborn daughter. But it was, and she had.

The last moment of Rina's life passed by as if in slow motion for her and her alone. A blood-covered, gurgled cry escaped her lips and her quickly dimming eyes widened at the sight of her daughter escaping her protective embrace to go soaring into the old well's opening, followed not a second later by the locket that had previously been around Rina's own, now permanently damaged neck. The chain was broken, Rina saw, and covered in her blood, but the rest of the locket looked relatively undamaged as it too fell into the odd well. That was the last thing a living Rina Sagara ever saw, as just then, the hand attached to the sword hilt jerked to the side and the life finally faded from her eyes. The sword cut straight through most of what was left of her neck, but the sadistically grinning male holding the sword wasn't about to just leave the mere sliver of flesh connecting head and body alone. Twisting the sword, he brought it back around to finish the job, severing Rina's head completely. Her limp body fell to the ground with a resounding thud, and Rina's murderer laughed outright.

"I told you you couldn't escape, didn't I Bitch?" he told the head, holding it up so he could see Rina's face, forever frozen with terror and death. A moment later he curled his arm back and tossed her head into the air. "Go! Join your baby in the Spirit World!"

The cruel man laughed again, putting his still-bloody sword away, but his companions didn't join him in his mirth as Rina's head disappeared over the side of the well.

"You idiot!" the one on his left, the leader of their small group, exclaimed, stepping forward toward the dry well. "It's her head we need! Don't go throwing it away!"

Rina's cruel killer didn't lose the smirk on his face, but before he could even open his mouth to speak, a gut-wrenching, blood-curdling scream flew into the air from the depths of the well.

**oOoOo**

A loud wailing filled the still night air, and the superstitious old man nervously, worriedly followed the sound. In one hand, he held a flashlight, and the other reached forward to pull open the door to the old well house. His heart was beating wildly at what he thought could lie within the old, magic-filled building, but the old man swallowed his fear and pushed forward into the darkness. The wailing got louder as he descended the stairs, and the flashlight shook in his hand as he discovered just where the sound was coming from. The Bone-eater's Well was sealed shut and covered in ofudas, just as it always was, and the old man shivered in fear and anticipation at what was within, though he knew not what it was. Reaching forward with a shaking hand, the man worked on pulling loose the ofudas and lifting the wooden cover off.

It fell to the dirt floor with thump just a moment later, though the small noise sounded so much louder to his ears. The moment it was removed, the wailing grew louder, as it was no longer muffled. Taking a deep breath as his shaking hands moved to shine the flashlight into the dark depths of the well, the old shrine keeper peered inside. What he saw made him gasp, and he fumbled with the light for a moment in an effort to catch himself, keep it from falling out of his grasp. He moved the light, shone it's shaking view on the bundle in the center of the well, and one hand gripped tightly onto the well's rim as the old man kept himself steady.

The words left him not a moment later, barely more than a breath, and the shrine keeper suddenly wished his son and the young woman who had recently become his bride were there with him at that moment. "It's a baby."

End Prologue

Okay, so this is obviously just the beginning to my brilliant plot. I'm sure you can guess what's going on and what's going to happen, but I want to hear it from you guys. I want you all to tell me what you think of this so far, and what you think is going on with this story. I want to see how perceptive you are, how much you got from this, find out what you know.

I'm also looking for a co-writer for my chapter stories, this one included. The available co-writing stories are: The Trouble With Time, Kishi Kaisei, Azaranian, and A Fresh Start, among other non-uploaded ones. I'll let you know on that front. See, I might be leaving fanfiction by the end of the year, maybe not forever, but definitely indefinitely. I want to finish all my stories beforehand, though, and I don't think I can do it alone. This story has been floating around in my head for a while, and I needed to get some things worked out with it before uploading it. It's going to be pretty damn long, and I really think I may need help getting it done before then. So, if any of you feel up to the task, let me know. I'm looking for someone who's level of writing is at least equal with my own.

Here's a small list of maybe-requirements, just stuff we're going to need to do for co-writing: (This is for every story that's up for co-writing, not just this one)

-alternate chapter writing, meaning I write one chapter and then you write the next one. This also means, no taking two weeks to get it done and back to me. I'll give you one week under normal circumstances. Any longer and I'll need to know why. (like, you're going on vacation, or you've got something coming up, or you're just too busy for one week to be enough time) I won't be a Nazi about it. I just need to know.

-I edit your work, you edit mine. No uploading the chapter before then. This is a joint effort. We work together and keep everything consistent. This also means we'll be doing some outlining. It shouldn't be anything too major, just enough really that we know where it's going and how everything needs to play out. You show me your outlining process, and I'll show you mine. We'll figure something out that works for both of us.

I can't really think of much else right now on what we'll be doing, but I've got a small list of co-writee requirements below.

-writing skill must be at least even (or close to it) to mine.

-Good with spelling and grammar, but don't be a Nazi about it.

-Don't write canon characters seriously OOC. A little OC isn't bad, just don't go overboard.

-Would be good if co-writee is close to the central time zone, so we can maybe work out times to both be online. It'll go much faster and smoother this way.

I was telling the truth when I said it was a small list. I'm not very strict on this. Just let me know if you're interested. Oh, and I'm also planning a type of sequel to this story, as well as a prequel. It all just depends on how far and fast I can get this all going.


	2. Chapter 1

起死回生 (**Kishi Kaisei**) Literally: Wake from death and return to life  
This means: To come out of a desperate situation and make a complete return in one sudden burst.

That's what the title means, both literally and otherwise. I looked it up on Google, by typing up "Japanese quotes" because I was curious. The section I found it on was called "Japanese Quotes and Wisdom Words". There was a bunch of others, but this kind of fit my plan for the plot. I can't say anything else without revealing too much. If you want to know more, you'll have to either wait for it or become my cowriter/ beta. Thankfully enough, I have found a willing betas, and Rayoko is doing a fine job so far.

To **A Lazy Reader**: Thank you so much for such an amazing first review! I love the fact that you asked about the title. I was actually wondering myself how long it would take before someone asked about that. I guess now we know.

To **LoneWolfSage**: Thanks. I'm glad you like it. Keep reading. It gets way interesting here in the next few chapters. I'm just figuring out how I want everything to play out exactly before I update next.

To **TsukiyoTenshi**: Thank you very much for the compliment. I was going for slightly mysterious when I wrote the prologue. I wanted to hint around at what was going on, without giving away too much too soon. By the way, I love the way you said "UPDATE WHENEVER!" instead of asking me to update as soon as possible. It kind of gives off the vibe that you realize and understand the update is completely up to me. By saying it, though, we know that you want me to update soon and you're looking forward to it, but you understand that the final decision is up to me and me alone. I really like that. ^^_^^

To **Tearainy**: It's great to know the prologue has that vibe about it that makes you just want to keep reading. I admit, part of me was a little worried people wouldn't think the prologue was interesting enough to keep reading this.

To **little101**: Glad to know you think I made a good choice for how I started this story. Keep reading and you'll see a lot more than just that. I guarantee it.

To **raven's love3**: I'm glad you like it. I'm really into this story, so my next update really only depends on how fast I can also get some of my other stories updated. I'm trying to switch around between chapters and get everything updated.

Now, I don't usually reply to reviews this way, but this is the first real chapter, so I thought "What the hell. Why not?" Plus, I wanted to clarify some things with the title, without giving away anything too important. And, I really do want a cowriter, so anyone who thinks they're up for the job, let me know.

**Kis****hi Kaisei**

**Chapter the First: Battle's End**

_"There are things that we don't want to happen but have to accept, things we don't want to know but have to learn, and people we can't live without but have to let go." – Unknown_

Kagome Higurashi may have been born a normal girl, but from the day she came into their lives, her family knew she was different, special even. Fifteen years later, she became a time traveler and normality grew to be a thing of the past, never again to knock on the door of her life. Instead of being a normal teenager, spending her time doing normal teenaged-girl things, Kagome spent weeks at a time in an era that was five hundred years prior to the one she grew up in. If Kagome had a chance to go back and change it all, stop it from ever happening, she wouldn't, couldn't do it. She wouldn't stop the attack from Mistress Centipede, for it had begun her journey. She wouldn't change the adventures she'd had or the people she'd met. The only thing she would ever change would be how it was ending, at that very moment. If given the chance and the choice, Kagome would rewind time and stop the scene right in front of her eyes from ever happening.

There was blood everywhere, it seemed. On Kagome, on Inuyasha, soaking the ground she was kneeling on. There was just so much blood, and her vision was so blurry, and the tears just wouldn't stop coming. Her hands were frantically working, trying to stem the blood pouring from the gaping hole through Inuyasha's stomach. Naraku was laughing, saying something cruel, Kagome was sure, but she was too preoccupied with Inuyasha to notice much of anything else.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome exclaimed, looking down at the hanyou she was cradling in her arms. "You have to hold on! Please!"

Kagome could barely see Inuyasha's eyes for the tears running down her cheeks, but what she could see made her blood run cold. The normally beautiful gold of his eyes was seriously dull and getting worse every second. His skin was pale and clammy, cold to the touch. The sight only made her cry harder. "Inuyasha!" she whimpered, holding a shaking hand to his cheek. "Please, don't leave me!" she whispered in a broken voice.

He grinned, a forced movement to make her feel better, though it looked more like a grimace than anything else. His hand came up, rising toward her face from its previously limp position beside him. His fingers brushed against her cheek, wiping away the tears there, only to leave behind a smear of blood in its place. That, too, was washed away with a fresh batch of tears. Inuyasha's hand moved to cup the side of her face, and he smiled a true smile. All Kagome could see was the man she loved, trying to be strong and brave and comforting, even to his last moments.

"Please, don't cry," he told her, though his voice was quiet and strained. "You know how much I hate it when you cry." He paused for a moment, his eyes searching every inch of her face as if memorizing it for the last time. Kagome's bottom lip quivered, and even more unshed tears glistened behind the surface of her eyes. "Kagome," he murmured, and his eyes brightened a shade, and it was so much that Kagome was almost filled with hope for him. "I lo-o-ve –" The dam holding back the majority of Kagome's tears broke when the words caught in his throat, when Inuyasha choked out his final message for her, along with even more blood. "–you."

His eyes faded completely and his head lolled over to the side, his gaze wide and unseeing and so completely dead that it took Kagome's breath away. Her hands shook and her iron-tight grip on Inuyasha disappeared altogether, though she was so far gone she didn't seem to realize that she'd physically let go of him. The rest of the world, previously far off and dimmed, faded from Kagome's senses. All she knew was that she knew nothing. The battle didn't exist, Inuyasha wasn't dead, and her friends weren't still probably fighting for their own lives. There was nothing, a void within her that pushed away everything else until all that was left was the nothing that had made its home within her very soul.

She didn't know how long she'd been like that, how long her eyes gazed, unseeing, at Inuyasha's own lifeless orbs of dull gold. She knew only that something was bothering her, something on the edge of her senses, a cruel sound that grated and slithered and hung thickly in the air around her. Laughter. It was only then that Kagome forced her eyes away from his, that she came back to the world of the living to know with her own senses the _dead-fucking-bastard_ who **dared** to laugh at the demise of her love. Anguished sapphire orbs met the cruel red gaze of her enemy. _Of course._ Naraku.

He was laughing, a loud, jovially menacing sound that brought forth a rage within Kagome that she had never known, never once felt in all her sixteen years. "_**You!**_" Kagome growled, rising from her place beside Inuyasha with her hands clenched into fists so tightly that her nearly blunt fingernails drew blood, though she was too focused on the soon-to-be-dead bastard in front of her to notice.

Naraku stopped laughing, but the smirk that remained on his face showed clearly how confident he was in the difference between his abilities and hers. "Me," He said simply, and the words were low and dark and cruel, so promisingly menacing that any less pissed than she would have backed down and run far away.

Kagome growled again, and she was consumed with rage, a fury that boiled in her very blood. "_**You will pay for what you've done!**_" Kagome yelled, though her voice sounded far-off, even to her, as everything, her vision, her senses, her world was filled with a bright luminescence, a white-hot power that seemed to burn even her with its intensity.

**XxXxX**

"How is she dear?" Mama Higurashi asked with a sad, worried look in her eyes as she walked up to stand beside Souta, who was watching his sister from the doorway.

Shifting from foot to foot nervously, Souta glanced over at his mother, an almost scared expression on his face. He shook his head. "Not good, Mama," he told her, his hand gripping tightly onto the edge of the doorway. "She's just sitting there. She hasn't moved all day!"

Mama Higurashi sighed, letting her eyes take in the sight that was Kagome, sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of Goshinboku, just staring up at the tree. "You have to remember, Souta. She's been through a lot. She's still grieving now, but she'll get better."

"But when?" Souta exclaimed, tears of worry prickling at the corners of his eyes. "She's been home for three weeks, already!"

"You have to give it time, dear," Mama Higurashi told her son, reaching out to run her fingers soothingly through his hair.

"What if she never gets better?" he asked, looking up at his mother with wide, innocent, frightened eyes. "What if she grieves herself to death, Mama? She's barely eating, and she doesn't get any sleep at night because of the nightmares!"

Souta was crying, and his lip trembled as he sought comfort in his mother's embrace. Mama Higurashi wrapped her arms around her boy, looking out into the yard, where her daughter was still just staring up at the Goshinboku. She hadn't moved. Looking back down at Souta, Mama Higurashi held onto him tightly, and a stubbornly determined look overcame her face. "We'll just have to help her get through it, then. We'll watch over Kagome, and help her, and make sure she gets better. How's that?"

Souta looked up at his mother from where his face had been buried in her stomach. He nodded, and Mama Higurashi reached out to wipe the tears from his face. "That's great, sweetie. The first thing we've got to do is get some food into her system, so why don't you go and bring your sister in for dinner," she told him, stepping back to return to her post within the kitchen, "and don't take no for an answer, dear. She's skipped too many meals already. She can't miss any more!"

Souta nodded, and a firm determination showed upon his youthful face. "Right!" he exclaimed, turning to march over to his sister and the Goshinboku. "We'll be there in five minutes, Mama!"

"Alright, dear," she said, walking back into the house to help Grandpa set the table and prepare four places that night.

Not five minutes later, Souta came into the room, pulling Kagome along behind him by her hand. He was talking animatedly about everything he could think of, obviously trying to distract her by talking of school and soccer and video games and everything else on the map, except for Inuyasha and the feudal era. There was a small smile on Kagome's face as she humored her younger brother, though she obviously knew what he was trying to do, and her smile was obviously fake, meant to console her family and keep them all from worrying about her. It was too late for that to work.

Mama Higurashi smiled at her children, one found and adopted and the other hers by blood, though the siblings had somehow managed to look alike, even then. "Hello, Kagome, dear!" she greeted her daughter, smiling cheerfully, though her own smile was fake as well, because her worry was still too great for it not to be. "I made your favorite."

Kagome looked up at her mother and smiled again, this one brighter, and yet still, obviously fake. "Thanks, Mama!" she exclaimed, sitting down beside Souta at the table. "It looks wonderful!"

Her eyes were duller than Mama Higurashi remembered, and she was paler and thinner, as well, but the older woman knew Kagome would get better eventually. _'She's trying, at least,' _Mama Higurashi told herself. _'That's all I can ask for, at the moment, considering.'_

**XxXxX**

Her friends considered her naïve, and oftentimes creepy in her love of school, but Ayumi had eyes and she knew something was wrong with Kagome. Whether her friends saw through Kagome's fake smiles or noticed her pale, tired, slightly thin visage was left to be discovered, but Ayumi noticed all of it, including the hidden anguish behind her blue, blue eyes. Something was definitely wrong with Kagome, and Ayumi just knew it couldn't all be because of her strange illnesses. It worried her.

"Hey guys, have you noticed anything wrong with Kagome?" Ayumi asked Eri and Yuka at the end of the school day, worriedly glancing over to where Kagome was walking ahead of them, fading off into her own world. "She hasn't been herself today, and she doesn't look so great, either."

Both of her friends looked over at her. Eri tucked her hair behind her ear and nodded. "She has been rather sluggish today," Eri said with a glance back up at Kagome, who was trudging almost sadly along the sidewalk.

"And she's been staring off into space an awful lot," Yuka piped up, biting her lip worriedly as she looked over at Eri and Ayumi. "You don't think it has anything to do with her illnesses, do you? She's been out sick a lot lately, more often than usual."

Ayumi shook her head. "I don't think so, guys," she told them, placing her hand thoughtfully on her chin. "It's got to be more than that. She looks so… depressed."

"I wonder what happened?" Yuka asked aloud, watching Kagome stare at the sidewalk with eyes that seemed almost dead to the world.

"I bet it has something to do with that violent boyfriend of hers," Eri stated, a firm, angry look on her face and in her eyes. "I knew he was no good for her!"

The girls looked forward again, and their gazes fell upon Kagome in unison, only to widen in shock as she stepped forward into the road, too distracted to notice the flashing red of the crosswalk sign. "Watch out, Kagome!" they yelled out in unison, racing toward their friend in an effort to help her. Eri, who was the fastest of the three, shot forward past the other girls and grabbed onto the back of Kagome's school uniform. She pulled with all the strength her slim schoolgirl arms could muster, and Kagome fell backwards onto the sidewalk, her backpack falling off of her shoulder and her eyes widening in shocked surprise at the cars that flew past just as she hit the ground.

The girls crowded worriedly around Kagome just as the girl pushed herself up to a sitting position. Her eyes were wide and blinking, and though they were still sad, Ayumi was happy to note that they were no longer staring off into nothing. "Are you alright, Kagome?" Ayumi asked, reaching forward to help her friend to her feet.

Almost as if unconsciously, Kagome's free arm shot out to grip onto her school bag as she stood slowly, with the help of her friends. "You've been staring off into space so much today," Yuka pointed out. "What have you been thinking about that's got you this distracted?"

"Or this depressed, come to think of it," Eri joined in, giving her friend a pleading, worried look. "What happened, Kagome?"

Kagome's eyes widened considerably as she gazed out at her three friends, and Ayumi saw almost immediately the wetness that gathered in them at her friends' words. "I'm sorry!" Kagome exclaimed, turning her face away. The crosswalk sign had turned green again by that point, and as the tears overflowed down Kagome's face, the other girl turned to run across and away from her worried friends. "Wait! Kagome, don't go!" Ayumi shouted after her friend, reaching out to pull her back, only to come up empty.

The three girls left behind at the crosswalk exchanged frightened, concerned glances between them. "What do you think could have happened," Eri began, her eyes shaking with worry and fear for her friend, "to make her this depressed?"

"I don't know," Yuka commented, gazing down the way Kagome had run, faster than even Eri could chase after her. "Do you think we should go after her? She looked really scared."

"I don't think there's anything we can do to really help her this time," Eri told Yuka and Ayumi, shaking her head. "It might just be best to leave her alone for a bit. Maybe her family can help her, but I have the feeling she wouldn't really tell us much of what's bothering her, anyway. She always did keep her deepest feelings bottled up inside."

Ayumi hugged herself against the rising chill the fall months were bringing to the air, as well as to keep her own frightened tears at bay. "But, we've got to try, at least! Kagome would do the same for any of us! We have to at least try to help her!"

Eri and Yuka nodded their agreement to her words. "That's right," Yuka said, stepping forward, "but what can we do?"

Ayumi looked down at the sidewalk dejectedly. "I don't know." _'Kagome,'_ she thought worriedly as she lifted her head once more to gaze out across the now-red-again crosswalk, _'What happened to you?'_

**End Chapter**

And, it's done! Feel free to feed me a review, and don't forget to let me know what you think of this chapter! I was going to write more, but the next scene is kind-of long, so I figured I could stop it here and start the next chapter in Kagome's POV. Or, maybe her mom again. It just depends on the mood. I've been waiting to place Kagome's POV in here, but I need to get it in at just the right time, so everything will be perfectly arranged. I'm also trying to show you readers what everyone else sees in Kagome during this time, what they're all thinking and feeling about it, whether or not they know what happened.


	3. Chapter 2

**Kis****hi Kaisei**

**Chapter the Second: The Agony of Guilt**

"_Beginnings are scary. Endings are usually sad, but it's the middle that counts the most." –Sandra Bullock, Hope Floats_

Her heart was hurting and her lungs were aching, but all Kagome knew was that she had to keep running. It was the only way she knew of to escape the emotions swirling around in turmoil inside her. She'd tried to forget Inuyasha's death, the way his eyes dulled and faded into nothing, the pool of his own blood he'd been made to swim in after protecting her from a certain death of her own. She'd tried to push it out of her mind, to think of happier times, of sitting with him at the campfire and of the numerous arguments they'd had, some pointless and some not, but nothing worked. All she could think of, all she could see was the image of his dead body cradled against hers, covering her in his blood as well. Every word he'd spoken, every twitch he'd made, every breath he took in his dying moment was locked in a permanent cycle in her mind's eye, looping within an endless pattern that showed her over and over just one of the deaths that was all her fault. But she wasn't ready to face it yet, not any of it, and so, she ran, ran as fast as her legs would carry her to the only true source of comfort she knew of. Her mother.

For as long as she could remember, Kagome had always gone to her mother for comfort during particularly emotional times in her life. Mama Higurashi exuded a calming, loving aura that never failed to make her feel better when she was down, and it was for that very reason that Kagome ran as fast as her legs would carry her through the front door and all the way to the kitchen without first remembering to remove her shoes. The tears were already running down her cheeks when she arrived, and her chest was heaving as she tried to catch her breath and hold in the sobs all at once. Mama Higurashi was standing at the stove with her back to the door when Kagome burst through into the kitchen, and it was as her mother turned around to view the room's newest occupant that the young priestess broke down completely.

A sob escaped her throat, followed by a fresh wave of tears, and Kagome rushed forward from where she'd paused just past the kitchen doorway, straight into her mother's shocked embrace. "Mama!" she cried, curling her arms around the older woman's waist into an embrace she hadn't had in far too long.

"Kagome, dear, what's wrong?" her mother asked, wrapping her arms around Kagome in return and running her fingers through her hair in a soothing manner.

Kagome sobbed harder in response, letting loose all the guilty feelings she'd tried locking away deep into the recesses of her heart. There was a brief moment where her mother's hand left her hair, and Kagome heard the faint clicking sounds that meant the stove had been turned off. She didn't have to wait any longer before the hand was returned to her head, and Kagome's mother began humming softly into her hair as she sobbed. Kagome didn't know how long she stood there sobbing within her mother's arms, or even how they came to be kneeling upon the floor. Eventually, though, the words just started flowing, and Kagome couldn't bring herself to stop, once she'd started.

"It's all my fault, Mama! All my fault!" she exclaimed, and though her voice was muffled by her mother's shirt and hard to understand because of the tears, the older woman heard her anyway. "They were my friends, Mama, and they're dead, and it's all my fault. They're dead because of me!" The words just kept coming, one after another, and though she knew her mother didn't understand exactly what she was saying, Kagome kept going because she couldn't bring herself to stop talking at this point. "Inu- He was just gone, and then he was laughing, the _bastard_, and I just lost control, and I couldn't stop, and now they're dead, and it's all my fault! I killed them, Mama! They trusted me, and I killed them!" Her sobs had started to lessen to a controllable level by the time she started talking, but with her words, the sobs came back full force.

Her mother continued to hold her and stroke her hair, though the humming had since stopped. Fear of her mother's rejection caused Kagome to sob harder, and her mother's arms tightened around her in response. It was only a moment later that Kagome felt shaking from the woman holding her, and then there was a wetness seeping into her hair, and her first thought was that her mother was so disappointed that she was brought to tears of her own. It was that thought that brought her sobs to a temporary standstill, though the tears still leaked through and her body still shook with occasional tremors as she pulled back far enough to see her mother's face. "No! Mama, please don't hate me! I don't think I can take it if you hate me too!"

Her mother looked at Kagome's face for only a moment longer before she pulled her back into the embrace with tearstained cheeks. "Oh, Baby, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you from all this!" Mama Higurashi exclaimed, and her voice was thick with emotion as she held in the sobs long enough to speak. "I don't hate you Baby, not even a little, and I'm sure your friends feel the same way!"

"But how can you say that?" Kagome asked through her tears a moment later, her voice coming out a bit strangled from trying to hold back her anguish so that her words could be understood. "You don't understand what I did, Mama! How can you be so sure they don't hate me?"

"They're your friends, dear, and they care about you," her mother told her, sniffling as she stroked her hair. "Whatever happened, whatever you say you did, I'm sure they've already forgiven you, baby. You just need to forgive yourself."

"Oh, Mama!" Kagome exclaimed, holding on tighter to her mother. "I love you, Mama! I love you so much! Please don't leave me, Mama! Promise you won't ever leave me!"

She was crying again, of guilt and pain and fear, and her mother was crying with her, for a reason Kagome wasn't sure she understood. "Kagome, baby, I'm right here! I'm not going anywhere, I promise!"

**XxXxX**

When Souta stepped into the house after his return from school that afternoon, his eyes automatically scanned the area and noticed that Kagome's shoes were nowhere to be found, and yet, her bag was lying there on the ground in their place. Removing his own shoes, Souta grabbed Kagome's bag and stepped further into the house.

"Mom! Kagome forgot to take off her shoes!" Souta called as he stepped through the foyer and into the sitting room, only to find his grandfather sitting on the couch, reading the newspaper. "Oh, hi Grandpa. Where's mom?"

"She's in the kitchen with your sister," Grandpa replied, turning the page of his paper without looking up at Souta.

"Ok, thanks," Souta called, turning to carry Kagome's bag into the kitchen for her, where he might also be able to see her told off for wearing her shoes in the house.

"Don't go in there right now, Souta," his grandfather told him, and Souta turned back around to face him, only to see that the old man had put down his newspaper and was staring at him.

"Why not?" Souta asked, and a slightly accusing lilt crept up into the tone of his voice. "What are they doing in there?"

Grandpa sighed and stood up from his seat to come over and stand beside Souta. "Your sister came home crying today," he started explaining, ignoring the shocked outburst from the young boy. "She ran straight into the kitchen to your mother, and you're not going to go charging in there to interrupt them," he said, grabbing hold of Souta's upper arm to prevent him running off into the kitchen.

"Why can't I?" Souta asked heatedly, glaring up at his grandfather indignantly as he tried to disengage his arm from the older man's grasp. "She's my sister, and I want to be there for her!"

"She needs her mother right now, Souta!" Grandpa told him, his voice rising as he stared heatedly down at the young boy. "There is nothing you or I can do for her, at the moment! Whatever you want to do, it will have to wait until she is done talking to her mother!"

Souta's eyes widened and he stopped struggling against his grandfather's hold. His shock only lasted a moment, and then he was glaring up at the old man with anger in his eyes. "How can you be so calm about this?!" Souta exclaimed, raising his free arm to gesture toward the kitchen as he spoke his next words. "Kagome's in there, crying her eyes out, and you're just sitting out here with your stupid newspaper acting as if nothing is wrong! Don't you care about her, at all?!"

Grandpa's draw dropped open briefly, and his eyes widened as he released Souta's arm from his hold. His shock at the boy's unexpected outburst wore off quickly, to be replaced by an anger that was all his own. "Of course I care about her!" he exclaimed, clenching his fists as he shot his own glare down at the boy who looked so similar to Kagome that it was a shock they weren't actually siblings. "She's as much my granddaughter as she is your sister, but there are certain things a girl can only go to her mother about! It's a woman to woman thing, Souta, just like the man to man talks you and I have on occasion." Grandpa folded his arms in front of his chest, his anger seeming to have gone, and he nodded sagely, as if he'd just given the best advice in the world.

Souta gave his grandpa a sour look. "When have I ever come to you for a man to man talk? Your advice is crap, you senile old man!"

Grandpa sputtered indignantly. "Listen here, you little brat!" he started, his voice rising as he glared down at Souta, and his anger came back with a vengeance.

Souta was saved from a pointless lecture, however, when the kitchen door slid open and out stepped mother and daughter. Both Souta and Grandpa froze, and simultaneously, both heads turned to face the two women in question. Kagome's face was red and blotchy, and her eyes were puffy and bloodshot from all the crying, but her face seemed free of tears as she leaned into her mother, who had an arm around her shoulders comfortingly. The two males were more surprised by Mama's puffy eyes and of the blotchiness of her own skin, signifying that she had been crying as well. Souta was the first to speak.

"Are you alright, Sis?" he asked, stepping forward to stand in front of Kagome with a worried look on his face. "Grandpa told me you were crying when you got home, and you forgot to take off your shoes, but he wouldn't let me go see you to make sure you were okay. I was really worried. What happened? Why were you crying? Are you okay? Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Whoa, whoa! Hold up with the questions there, Squirt," Kagome told him, letting a small smile slip onto her face as she held up her hand in a gesture of quiet. "I'm better now, really, but I've still got a long way to go before I can truly move on." A softer, sadder look came onto her face, before she shook it off and bent to hug her younger brother. "I'm really lucky to have a little brother like you. Thanks for worrying, Souta, but I think I'll be okay. I just need time," she told him, pulling back out of the hug to smile down at her brother.

Souta stared at her in shock for a moment, rejoicing in that her smile seemed more true than ever before, and a happy smile of his own spread across his face. "And as for my shoes," she said, bending down to remove her shoes, "do you think you could put them up for me, while I go get ready for a nice, hot bath? I'd really appreciate it."

Her smile was so kind, so fresh that Souta could do nothing but nod as he numbly took the shoes from Kagome's outstretched hand. "Would you like me to draw the bath for you, dear?" his mother asked, looking over at Kagome with a questioning look on her face.

Kagome shook her head, pulling away from her family as she headed over toward the stairs leading up to the second floor of their home. "Thanks mama, but I've got it."

She left them then, and Mama clapped her hands together with a nod to herself. "Alright then, I guess I better go finish dinner, or should I say get started, instead?"

Mama Higurashi turned around and went back into the kitchen, leaving the young boy and the old man standing there all alone together. The old man moved first, crossing his arms and nodding to himself as if he knew something the boy did not. "Ah, everything has been resolved, just as I predicted. My spiritual power must be greater than I thought for the healing spells to have worked so quickly and completely." Souta stared up at his grandfather wordlessly, and his eyebrow rose skeptically at Grandpa's mention of healing spells. Grandpa caught the look, but apparently, he misinterpreted its meaning. "Do not fret, my boy! Power like mine takes a lot of time and training to get it right! I'm sure you can do it if you try, but you'll have to start training for the priesthood soon or the chance may pass you by completely!"

Grandpa nodded once more before turning back to his newspaper, apparently satisfied with himself and his advice. Souta's eyebrow twitched. _'Fat chance of that ever happening.' _Souta sighed, shaking his head dejectedly, and then his eyes widened with realization. "Oh, darn it! I have the worst luck. How'd I end up with Kagome's shoes?"

**XxXxX**

The rest of the night for Kagome was more fun than she remembered having with her family in a long time. After her bath and a nap, Kagome felt much better than she had in ages. She wasn't happy, per say, but she ate all her food, and she talked and laughed right along with her family throughout the night. When it came time for bed, Kagome curled up into her covers and fell asleep with a smile on her face, but while her evening with her family was as happy as it could be, given the situation, Kagome's dreams were another matter entirely.

_It was happening all over again, the battle with Naraku, Inuyasha's death, all of it. She was there, shooting arrow after arrow at their enemies, determined to help defeat the monster that'd caused so much pain to so many people. Sango was sending Kirara to get Shippo far away from the battle, to a safe location. Miroku was contemplating his wind tunnel, but like always, Naraku's poisonous insects stopped him. Kouga and Ginta and Hakkakku were fighting with Sango and Miroku against Kagura and Kanna, trying desperately for the revenge that was entirely justified. She was shooting arrows at the lower level demons, trying to help out wherever she could, while keeping one eye on the way Sesshomaru and Inuyasha fought each other more than they did Naraku. She would have shouted at them for that, had Inuyasha not been sent flying. He'd lost Tetsusaiga somewhere along the way, and in an effort to help him out, she reached for an arrow, only to come up empty. Her eyes widened, and it was then, as she was attacked from behind, that Kagome realized she should have paid more attention to the mass of demons around her on the battlefield. _

_As the demon's claws came in contact with her side, Kagome screamed, and she was thrown across the ground. She heard yelling from what felt all directions, and as she opened her eyes to see the demon advancing on her crumpled form, she screamed for Inuyasha. He was there in an instant, but without Tetsusaiga, there was only so much he could do to help her and stop the demon. He took the blow, and for his efforts in saving her, he received a clawed hand directly through the center of his chest. Time seemed to slow down in that instant as Inuyasha crumpled to the ground in a growing puddle of blood, and as she crawled over to him, Kagome vaguely recalled Kouga speeding past them to attack the demon and prevent a third attack._

_Kagome remembered the next bit, remembered it very clearly, and as she saw it, felt it happening right in front of her, she wanted out. 'Wake up!' her mind screamed. Inuyasha was dying, his life fading before her eyes, all over again. '_Wake up!_' Naraku was laughing, and Kagome was beginning to hear it again. She was looking up with fury in her eyes, and desperately, the Kagome that was forced to relive that nightmaric memory screamed. "_**Wake up!**_"_

**End Chapter**

Sorry for the long wait on this chapter. Real life kind of got in the way, and I'm still dealing with stuff on that end, but I'm going to try harder to get the next few chapters written up and posted. She should be in the Meiji era in a few chapters, as well, so you guys should be happy about that coming up, at least. Don't forget to review and let me know what you guys think of this chapter, my loyal readers! I'd love to know your opinions on this and the story so far! And, hey! Why don't you guys let me know where you think the story is headed? It'd be really interesting to know your guesses on what I have planned.


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